Turning the page at Wood Library

Friday

Apr 12, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 12, 2013 at 12:21 PM

It’s been a busy few months at Wood Library.

The Canandaigua library recently had to deal with an unexpected obstacle when a burst sprinkler pipe flooded two floors of the building. The inconvenience comes at a time when the library is approaching enough funds to go forward with a more than 4,500-square foot expansion.

Scott Pukos, staff writer

It’s been a busy few months at Wood Library.

The Canandaigua library recently had to deal with an unexpected obstacle when a burst sprinkler pipe flooded two floors of the building. The inconvenience comes at a time when the library is approaching enough funds to go forward with a more than 4,500-square foot expansion.

The addition plans represent about five years of planning, said Executive Director Jenny Goodemote. She added that it’s a relief to be approaching the actual construction phase.

“It means we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.

The funding

The Feb. 18 flood did not deter the quest to secure funding for the library additions. The fact that the library now receives community-based funds hasn’t impacted the expansion, either. The $1.7 million needed for changes will all come from private donations, Goodemote said, adding that taxpayer money will not be used for the project.

Construction on the project will not begin until all the money has been obtained, Goodemote said. The figure needed to complete the funding changes daily, she said. As of April 1, the library needed less than $175,000.

“We’re hoping once we get the funding we can start right away,” Goodemote said. “Once we get the word ‘go,’ we’ll be ready to go.”

HBT Architects in Pittsford did the architectural work on the project; BME Associates in Fairport is the engineer; and Frank Marianacci Inc. in Bloomfield is doing the construction.

The construction period will last about eight months, said project architect Joe Twomey, of HBT Architects.

The additions

The changes at the 134 N. Main St. facility include an expansion where a section of the back-entrance parking lot is currently located.

Among the changes, the first-floor checkout area will be moved to a more spacious spot in the building, and a large meeting room that can be split into two smaller rooms will be created.
Additionally, popular items like DVDs and audiobooks will relocate to a location closer to the entrance, self-checkouts will be added, and a waiting area will be constructed.

The expansion was originally approved by the City of Canandaigua Planning Commission in March 2010, along with a separate $2 million renovation project. The renovations — including asbestos removal and additions of a teen room, a sprinkler and a boiler — were completed in 2010; however, the library did not have the funds to begin work on the additions.

Once the funding is complete and construction begins, some community events may need to be moved to other locations in Canandaigua. Additionally, the construction will temporarily affect parking at the library, Goodemote said.

The flooding

Wood Library was closed for four days after the Feb. 18 flooding. An estimated 3,000 books were damaged, Goodemote said. Currently, those books are being evaluated at Document Reprocessors in Middlesex, and Goodemote said the hope is that most of them can be saved.

Aside from the books, damage remains evident in the library’s fiction section, where the pipe burst.
The ceiling remains opened up in that area, and caution tape surrounds that spot. Some areas in the children’s book room remain damaged as well.

The cost of the overall damage is about $53,000, Goodemote said. The library is waiting to have its insurance claim approved by Utica National Insurance Group. If the claim is approved, the insurance company would cover 100 percent of the damage, she said.